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A couple of weeks ago, we announced with Google that our teleconferencing product, UberConference, was now integrated with Google Hangouts. The response we got from that announcement was almost overwhelming. Our biggest day of new customer signups-ever.

Which is great for us, and we couldn’t be happier or prouder. But let’s step back a moment and answer the question: why is this a big deal for you?

Well, first of all, UberConference and Google Hangouts are just about perfect matches for one another. Google Hangouts is a wonderful tool for video conferencing- it’s easy to use, and it works great, provided everyone is sitting in front of a computer that has a video camera, and your internet connection is solid.

But that’s not often the case with real life business calls. Many times you have callers who are on the road, riding in the back of a cab to the airport, stuck in a hotel room with a bad internet connection or don’t have a webcam immediately available. Or, frankly, don’t really want to be seen and are in no mood to get dressed at 5 a.m. in Los Angeles for an 8 a.m. conference call with New York.

Enter UberConference. When you use UberConference with Google Hangouts, you can take the conference call out of the confines of the office and out into the real world where you, your coworkers and your customers are living and working and doing business.
Plus, UberConference allows you to join a Google Hangout without a webcam. Or at least without turning on your webcam.

Then there’s the size of your conference calls. Google Hangouts is limited to 15 participants. By integrating with UberConference, that conference call can now add in another 100 participants.

The UberConference integration with Google Hangouts, however, was only part of the announcement. At the same time Google also announced its Google Chromebox for meetings.

For small to medium-sized businesses, what’s not to love about this product? Up until now, if your company did regular video conferencing, you were spending at least $10,000 on hardware for a video conferencing system.

What’s your investment cost with Google Chromebox for meetings? About $1,500. The Chromebox hardware package, which includes UberConference, is just under $1,000. Buy yourself an HD TV for another $500, and you’re set. You’ve got a complete video conferencing system for a fraction of the cost of existing systems.

And this is just the beginning of innovative, low-cost products we’re going to be rolling out for you. Stay tuned.

As the admin of your UberConference Business account, you can now control key features across all of your team’s UberConference accounts. Once you set preferences in the admin account, the changes are applied to all accounts in your Team. UberConference Business helps you set your whole team up with painless conference calls and more productive meetings. Learn more here.

The Cloud Awards have officially announced UberConference as the winner of Most Promising Start-Up 2014.

Cloud Awards organizer Larry Johnson said: “The standard of entries in this year’s cloud computing awards was not just high. It was in the stratosphere, with astronomical competition. We are extremely pleased to endorse UberConference as a cloud services provider disrupting business models and leveraging cloud technologies.”

Congratulations to all other winners and nominees. We are extremely proud to win Most Promising Start-Up and on behalf of UberConference, we are excited to innovate in the year ahead.

Big things are happening at UberConference! We’ve just opened an office in downtown Raleigh, North Carolina, and we’re growing quickly.

The office is located two blocks from the Raleigh State Capital in the historic Briggs Hardware Building, and is led by Raleigh GM and UberConference Head of Telephony, TR Missner.

We expect to add up to 20 more North Carolina members to our team over the next few months-including operations, sales and customer service representatives.

“Raleigh is a thriving, dynamic market with an extraordinary talent pool,” said T.R. “Establishment of our office in Raleigh makes it possible for us to provide exceptional customer service with extended hours, and expand brand awareness and product knowledge through East Coast sales channels.”

He added, “It’s another step in our strategy to provide the best conference calling service in the world.”

We’ve found that before you head to a new country, learning the language helps you communicate better with the people who live there. The Wall Street Journal said that Duolingo is “Far and away the best free language-learning app.” Duolingo gamifies learning another language, giving you lives and points, like your favorite gaming app. The effect is that Duolingo feels less like a class and more like Candy Crush. Buona Fortuna, amici.

True, you are getting on that plane for business, but what’s a business trip without a little sightseeing? It’s pretty brutal. TouristEye Planner syncs all of your travel arrangements to help you plan your itinerary, letting you know what is nearby. There are also tours and itineraries created by experts and other users: one-day itineraries, shopping tours, tours to bike, gastronomic tours, best cheap eats, etc. One of the coolest features is the ability to synchronize your trip with your Android or iPhone to have your itinerary 100% offline, maps included! That means no getting lost because your carrier has a dark spot in Kiev.

Undoubtedly, one of the worst parts of business travel is filling out your expense report. With Expensify, all you have to do is take a picture and smartscan uploads your receipts and corresponding information. Your office manager and you will thank Expensify after every trip.